Ports of Call: Hawaii

We've visited Oahu enough times to bypass shore excursions there. Our plans to visit my niece in Laie didn't work out. Without a car, traveling a great distance in a short amount of time becomes amazingly complicated. We could walk to Iolani Palace from the port. In all our visits, we've never toured it - don't know why. Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays (what!), so we spent the afternoon like so many first time visitors, sunbathing on Waikiki Beach. Sometime in the seven years since our last visit, The Shore Bird Restaurant discontinued it's Tuesday night 2-for-1 dinners. Oh well. With all the fabulous food on the ship, eating on shore is kinda silly.

On Maui, we'd booked a snorkeling trip but the water in Molokini Crater was described as a "washing machine" and all trips were cancelled. Instead, we tried a trip on the local version of the Atlantis Submarine which we'd seen in so many tropical ports. There are many experiences that must be done once, just to say one has done it, but never have to be repeated: parasailing, golf, rappelling, Atlantis Submarine. The view from the port hole was okay, but I think they try to put way too many people in the space. We sat in little, itty, bitty

On Hilo, we saw a new steam vent in Haleakala Crater. Samoa brought hiking in the national park and a visit to a Latter-day Saint temple that was consecrated on our wedding day. In Fiji, firewalkers, Vanuatu, a canoe ride and an attack by warriors (followed by singing and dancing). At Ile de Pins, the captain kept talking about all the things the island didn't have, like a town, shopping, restaurants, until we wondered why we were docking there. Then, we went snorkeling. Oh My Goodness! We've been scuba diving 90' down and haven't seen the variety of coral and fish that were available just 2 feet below the surface. It's just too bad the "cheap" hotel in Ile de Pins runs about $600 per night, way too rich for our blood.